Local Wisdom in the Historical Formation of Ecotheology Discourse in South Sulawesi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30983/fuaduna.v9i2.10120Keywords:
Local Wisdom, Ecotheology, South Sulawesi, Historical Context, Environmental EthicAbstract
This study examines the historical formation of ecotheological discourse in South Sulawesi by emphasizing the role of local wisdom rooted in the relationship between religion, humans, and nature, as well as its encounters with Abrahamic religions. Accordingly, the focus of this study is adat (customary traditions) and their dynamics within a historical context, including colonial understandings of local religions. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method with a literature review approach, supported by historical analysis to trace religious conceptions of the relationship between humans and nature. The findings show that local wisdom embedded in indigenous/ancestral religion systems plays an important role in shaping ethical relationships between humans and the natural environment, which later interacted with the theological frameworks of Abrahamic religions (such as Christianity). These interactions produced distinctive forms of discourse, reflecting both continuity and religious adaptation. Ultimately, this study affirms that ecotheology in South Sulawesi is not a new construct but a historically rooted discourse that remains relevant to the development of environmental ethics grounded in local cultural traditions.
References
A.Sunarko, and A. Eddy Kristiyanto. 2008. Menyapa Bumi Menyembah Hyang Ilahi. Yogyakarta: Kanisius.
Adams, Kathleen M. 2006. Art As Politis: Re-Crafting identities, Tourism, and Power in Tana Toraja, Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
Bauman, Whitney. 2011. "Ecology and Contemporary Christian Theology." Religion Compass Volume 5 (Issue 8): 376-388. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8171.2011.00297.x.
Bigalke, Terrace W. 2016. Sejarah Sosial Tana Toraja. Yogyakarta: Ombak.
Damirah, Darwis, Abd Hamid, and Musmulyadi. 2022. "INTERNALISASI KONSEP CYCLE RELATION MODEL PADA KOMUNITAS AGAMA LOKAL DI INDONESIA." Jurnal Masyarakat dan Budaya Volume 24 (Nomor 2): 141-156.
Darsono, Valentinus. 1995. Pengantar Ilmu Lingkungan, Edisi Revisi. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Universitas Atma Jaya.
Dassir, M. 2008. "Pranata Sosial Sistem Pengelolaan Hutan Masyarakat Adat Kajang." Jurnal Hutan dan Masyarakat Volume 3 (Nomor 2): 135-147.
Dhewayani, Jeanny. 2016. "Managing Religious Diversity In Indonesia: Policyand Reality." In Religion, Public Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia, Managing Religious DIversity Vol. 1, by Dicky Sofjan, 71-98. Geneva: Globethics.net.
Fadhel, Ahmad, Miftahul Amalia Akhmad, A. Miftahul Jannah, and Riska Azizah. 2021. "PASANG RI KAJANG SEBAGAI MEDIA PENDIDIKAN KARAKTER BERWAWASAN LINGKUNGAN DI KAWASAN ADAT AMMATOA." Jurnal Citra Pendidikan Volume 1 (Nomor 4): 543-553.
Geerts, Clifford. 1963. Agricultural Involution: The Processes of Ecological Change in Indonesia. London: University of California Press.
Hasan, and Hasruddin Nur. 2019. "Patuntung Sebagai Kepercayaan Masyarakat Kajang Dalam (Ilalang Embayya) Di Kabupaten Bulukumba." Phinisi Integration Review Volume 2 (Nomor 2): 185-200.
Herlina, Nina. 2020. Metode Sejarah: Edisi Revisi 2020. Bandung: Satya Historika.
Husain, Mulvi Affan. 2025. "Mengarusutamakan Ekoteologi: Mendesain Kebijakan Program Responsif di Kantor Wilayah Kementerian Agama Provinsi Sulawesi Selatan." Amuya: Indonesian Journal of Management Reviews Vol. 1 (No. 2): 337-364.
Ichwan, Muhammad, Ulfa Reskiani, Ayu Lestasi Indah, Andi Nurul Ainun Fitri Makmur, and Eka Merdekawati Djafar. 2021. "Pasang ri Kajang: Tradisi Lisan Masyarakat Adat Ammatoa Suku Kajang dalam Pembentukan Karakter Konservasi." Jurnal Ideas: Pendidikan, Sosial dan Budaya Volume 7 (Nomor 3): 133-142.
Itawan, Devi. 2023. "Colonialism and Climate Crisis: The Root of Environmental Changes and the Rise of Environmental Awareness in Indonesia." IHiS (Indonesian Historical Studies) Vol. 6 (No. 2): 192-205. doi:https://doi.org/10.14710/ihis.v6i2.16037.
Itawan, Devi. 2020. "Dari Hutan Purba Menjadi Perkebunan: Fotografi, Propaganda Kemakmuran, dan Perubahan Lanskap di Sumatera Timur, 1860an-1930an." Jurnal Sejarah Vol. 3 (No. 2): 28 – 48.
Jamaluddin, Adon Nasrullah. 2015. Agama dan konflik Sosial: Studi Kerukunan Umat. Bandung: Pusaka Setia.
Kim, Grace Ji-Sun. 2012. "Colonialism, Han, and Eco-theology." Scriptura Volume 111 (Issue 3): 376-384.
Kreider, Luke Beck. 2019. "Christian Ethics and Ecologies of Violance." Religious Journal Vol. 10 ( No. 9). doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10090509.
Kusumasumantri, Pandji Yudistira. 2022. Peranan Sultan dan Raja dalam Sejarah Konservasi Alam Indonesia. Jakarta: Direktorat Jenderal Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam dan Ekosistem.
Manguju, Yudha Nugraha. 2022. "Membangun Kesadaran Sebagai Manusia Spiritual-Ekologis Dalam Menghadapi Krisis Ekologi di Toraja." SOPHIA: Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Kristen Volume 3 (No. 1): 29-49.
Nawiyanto. 2012. "Bencana dan Pelestarian Lingkungan: Pandangan Etnik Jawa dan Madura di Wilayah Ujung Timur Jawa." Jurnal Paramita Volume 22 (Nomor 1): 41-55.
Nurjaya, I Nyoman. 2005. "Sejarah Hukum Pengelolaan Hutan di Indonesia." Jurisprudence Vol. 2 (No. 1): 35-55.
Palm, Hetty Nooy. 1979. The Sa'dan-Toraja: a study of their social life and religion; Vol. I: organization, symbols and beliefs. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Quddus, Abdul. 2012. "Ecotheology Islam: Teologi Konstruktif Atasi Krisis Lingkungan." Ulumuna: Jurnal Studi Keislaman Volume 16 (Nomor 2): 311-347. doi:10.20414/ujis.v16i2.181.
Rappoport, Dana. 2004. "Ritual Music and Christianization in the Toraja Highlands, Sulawesi." Ethnomusicology Vol. 48 (No. 3): 378-404.
Reid, Anthony. 2018. Indonesia, Revolusi & Sejumlah Isu Penting, Edisi Pertama. Jakarta: Prenandamedia Group.
Ridhoh, M. Yunasri, and Andi Alfian. 2025. "Ecotheology of the Kajang People: The Encounter Between Ecology And Theology in the Indigenous Kajang Community of South Sulawesi." Al – Qalam Journal of Religious and Sociocultural Research Volume 31 (No. 2): 346-362.
Rochwulaningsih, Yety. 2017. "Dinamika Gerakan Lingkungan dan Global Environmental Governance." Jurnal Sejarah Citra Lekha Volume 2 (Nomor 2): 151-160. doi: https://doi.org/10.14710/jscl.v2i2.16188 .
Sandarupa, Stanislaus. 2015. "Glokalisasi Spasio-Temporal dalam Agama Aluk To Dolo Oleh Agama Kristen di Toraja." Sosiohumaniora Vol. 17 (No. 1): 86 - 93.
Sanjani, Dzulkifli, Megayanty Yoland. S, and Robiyanto Sultra M. 2023. "Kajian Ekoteologi Terhadap Kerusakan Lingkungan di Kota Rantepao Berdasarkan Kejadian 1:28 Serta Kaitannya dengan Falsafah Tallu Lolona." HUMANITIS: Jurnal Humaniora, Sosial dan Bisnis Vol. 1 (No. 5): 458-469.
Sapri, Stefanus. 2011. "Makna Falsafah Budaya Tallu Lolona." MELO: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama Vol. 2 (No. 1): 1-11.
Sofjan, Dicky. 2016. Religion Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia Vol. 1: Managing Religious Diversity. Genewa: Globethics.net.
Sunarko, A. 2008. Menyapa Bumi Menyembah Hyang Ilahi. Yogyakarta: Kanisius.
Tenny, Johana R. Tangirerung, Stephanus A. Bungaran, Yonathan Mangolo, and Agustinus K. Sampeasang. 2022. "Menuju Teologi Sungai: Kajian Ekoteologi terhadap Pencemaran Sungai Sa'dan Toraja." EPIGRAPHE: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan Kristiani Vol. 6 (No. 2): 251-264.
Troster, Lawrence. 2013. "What Is Eco-Theology?" Cross Currents Vol. 64 (No. 4): 380-385.
Tsintjilonis, Dimitri. 2000. "Death and the Sacrifice of Signs: 'Measuring' the Dead in Tana Toraja." Oceania Vol. 71 (No. 1): 1-17.
Tucker, Mary Evelyn, and John A. Grim. 2003. Agama, Filsafat, dan Lingkungan Hidup. Yogyakarta: Kanisius.
Yudistira, Panjdi. 2014. Sang Pelopor: Peranan Dr. SH. Koorders dalam Sejarah Perlindungan Alam di Indonesia. Jakarta: Kementerian Kehutanan.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fadhilah Utami Ilmi Rifai, Roger Allan Cristian Kembuan, Meily Ivane Esther Neman

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).


